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Up for sale, a 2005 Bad Cat Hot Cat 30R 1x12” combo amplifier in exceptional condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original owner’s manual. A direct descendent of Matchless, Bad Cat was founded by Mark Sampson, who defined a new era of boutique British tone and set a high standard for build quality and sonic excellence. This since-discontinued iteration of the Hot Cat 30R platform, dating to the first year of the model’s production, was crafted at the very end of the Sampson era of Bad Cat; the amp guru left the company in 2005 to start his own company, Star Amplifiers.
A two-channel design, the Hot Cat 30R delivers a wide array of tonalities, with footswitchable Clean, Overdrive/Distortion, and Combination modes. Channel 1 offers muscular, full cleans, with a five-way rotary Tone knob enabling sounds ranging from Vox-style chime to Plexi-style warmth. Channel 2 is built for ripping distortion, and this is the beating heart of the Bad Cat, with tight, aggressive lows and a harmonically complex midrange. This channel is notably dynamic and touch-sensitive to user inputs, allowing for several different British-flavored overdrive sounds without the need to adjust the Gain control. The -0+ Midrange mini-toggle further expands the tonal palette, with modern scooped-mid sounds at the “-” setting and fat, vintage-style punchy mid-boost sounds at “+” (“0” being the neutral setting). The circuit also features onboard Reverb, an Effects Loop with Send and Return knobs on the back panel, and a three-way rotary ohm switch.
The tube complement comprises a matched pair of Mullard Russian-made EL34 power tubes, a 5AR4 rectifier, four 12AX7s in the preamp and an ECC83 for the Reverb. This amp can be toggled between tube and solid state rectification This Hot Cat 30R is loaded with a Celestion G12 Alnico Gold 12” speaker: based on the iconic G12 Blue (most famous for its usage in the original Vox AC30s), the Gold is designed to sound like a true vintage example of that classic speaker that has had time to soften and become less “chalky.” The resultant tone is warm and mellow, with pristine, bell-like trebles and a laid-back, rounded low end.
Cosmetic touches include black tolex, silver sparkle faceplate, silver piping, black/silver grillcloth, and a light-up Bad Cat badge. This is a clean example, with just a few minor scuffs and marks on the enclosure.
The original owner’s manual is included.
A two-channel design, the Hot Cat 30R delivers a wide array of tonalities, with footswitchable Clean, Overdrive/Distortion, and Combination modes. Channel 1 offers muscular, full cleans, with a five-way rotary Tone knob enabling sounds ranging from Vox-style chime to Plexi-style warmth. Channel 2 is built for ripping distortion, and this is the beating heart of the Bad Cat, with tight, aggressive lows and a harmonically complex midrange. This channel is notably dynamic and touch-sensitive to user inputs, allowing for several different British-flavored overdrive sounds without the need to adjust the Gain control. The -0+ Midrange mini-toggle further expands the tonal palette, with modern scooped-mid sounds at the “-” setting and fat, vintage-style punchy mid-boost sounds at “+” (“0” being the neutral setting). The circuit also features onboard Reverb, an Effects Loop with Send and Return knobs on the back panel, and a three-way rotary ohm switch.
The tube complement comprises a matched pair of Mullard Russian-made EL34 power tubes, a 5AR4 rectifier, four 12AX7s in the preamp and an ECC83 for the Reverb. This amp can be toggled between tube and solid state rectification This Hot Cat 30R is loaded with a Celestion G12 Alnico Gold 12” speaker: based on the iconic G12 Blue (most famous for its usage in the original Vox AC30s), the Gold is designed to sound like a true vintage example of that classic speaker that has had time to soften and become less “chalky.” The resultant tone is warm and mellow, with pristine, bell-like trebles and a laid-back, rounded low end.
Cosmetic touches include black tolex, silver sparkle faceplate, silver piping, black/silver grillcloth, and a light-up Bad Cat badge. This is a clean example, with just a few minor scuffs and marks on the enclosure.
The original owner’s manual is included.
